Through the Ages
by jupiterjuniper
Summary: "I was eleven when I first met him." The insane tale of how I singlehandedly betrayed my family, ruined everything, and fell in love.
1. Eleven

Through the Ages: Eleven

By: l00ny-l0veg00d

I was eleven when I first met him.

As I got on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, I was having a desperate battle with my very oversized trunk.

"Ugh," I groaned loudly. "Oy, Bella!" I called. "I could use a little help here!"

Bella didn't come, but someone else did. He was tall, nearly a head taller than me (then again, I was very short, so that wasn't _that_ unusual) but he looked about my age. He had golden blond hair and mischevious blue eyes that made him look as if he was _always_ up to _something_ or other.

"Need some help?" he asked. Together we managed to heft the enormous thing onto the train.

"Thank you," I said formally. Then I stepped up onto the train and stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do next.

He hesitated. "You're welcome. I'm Ted Tonks," he said genially.

I was about to respond when I heard a familiar shriek.

"ANDIE! WHERE have you BEEN? I've been looking for you EVERYWHERE!" my older sister shouted. Then she saw Ted, and her face darkened. "Go away, Mudblood, you're not wanted here." she said sharply. Then, she boarded the train, intentionally knocking him to the side. She hefted up my gigantic trunk, and managed to drag it off while wheezing under her breath, "Mudbloods... all the same... too much... idiots."

I glanced briefly over my shoulder as I followed her. Ted looked confused. At least, I thought he did. Oh fiddlesticks. Now I was going to spend the rest of the train ride wondering why I cared so much about the expression of some Mug-- some _Mudblood_. Now I sounded like a blood traitor even in my head.

Bella and I were silent for most of the ride. Or, rather, I was silent and Bella continued grumbling darkly to herself.

"Bella?" I asked quietly.

"Hmm?" She rose out of her musings and looked up at me, a scowl on her face.

"Never mind," I said quickly. From the expression on her face, I could tell she was still thinking deeply about blood purity and whatnot. What I could also tell was that _I _was _not_ thinking about it, nor had it ever occured to me to contemplate it at great length. I really was a blood traitor, wasn't I?

Eleven was also when I first realized that I didn't put the same emphasis on blood status as my family did.


	2. Twelve

Through the Ages:

Twelve

I was twelve when I found out that he was _not_ an idiot, despite my sister's loudly voiced comments.

One day, in the middle of February, Professor Greenthorn finally lost whatever marbles he'd still had left.

"_Duelling_?" my friend Catie shrieked. My other friend Winnie looked equally nervous.

"Yes, Miss North," Professor Greenthorn said exasperatedly. They had been over this just ten seconds ago.

"It's Nott." That had also been gone over approximately ten seconds ago. "But really, we're _second years._ Dueling should not be part of the curriculum."

"That will be enough, Miss Nodd. Let's see... for the first pair, how about Mr. Honks and Miss Blue?"

"Honks and Blue?" Winnie whispered, looking as if she were about to burst into laughter.

Ted Tonks stood up, clearly realizing he was "Honks" the same way Catie was "North". However, that still didn't tell me who "Miss Blue" was.

"Does he mean you?" I whispered to Winnie.

"How on earth does Byatt become Blue?" she replied, still trying to hold in her laughter.

"_Antoinette Blue!_" Professor Greenthorn demanded. I finally realized that he was looking at me.

"My name's Andromeda _Black,_" I said with more than a touch of irritation. There were numerous snickers.

"Never mind that. Up to the front of the room, now! The first one to get their opponent's wand wins."

I walked up and turned to face Ted. His expression was wary, and he seemed to recognize me as the tiny girl from last year with the ridiculously large trunk and an intimidating sister. He looked rather confused. He seemed to look confused a lot, actually. Around me, at the very least.

Oh fiddlesticks, why was I analyzing his expressions?

"On three," Greenthorn said. After this, I wasn't ready to give him the title of Professor anymore. "One, two, three!"

"Expelliarmus!" Ted shouted. I narrowly managed to dodge the spell. Sometimes, being small has its advantages.

"Rictusempra! Tarantellegra!" I cried in quick succession.

He managed to deflect my first spell, but the second struck him squarely. However, he immediately performed the countercharm and followed up with a neat barrage of various nonlethal hexes. He was quite good.

We continued in a similar fashion for quite some time. It seemed to be going a lot faster than it actually was, since some Ravenclaw looked at their watch and shouted "Class is over!", which startled Ted considerably. I took advantage of this and finally managed to disarm him.

"Well done, both of you! Class dismissed!" Greenthorn looked happy, probably because he hadn't had to do any work, as usual.

I swept out as quickly as I could. He was far from stupid, clearly. Was he an exception to the rule, or were all Muggleborns just like other wizards? Could they as talented as us? I had beaten him, but only by a lucky chance. Could it be that everything that I had heard from childhood was wrong?

Twelve was also when I started doubting my family.


	3. Thirteen

Through the Ages:

Thirteen

I was thirteen when we became friends.

It was my first year of taking Ancient Runes, and I was thoroughly confused. I was sitting alone in the library (because both Catie and Winnie had decided to take Divination) trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.

"Oh fiddlesticks," I muttered to myself as I translated the same passage over and over, getting only nonsense. I had memorized the runes' meanings quickly, so it didn't take very long at all to translate a passage of this length normally, but for some reason the answers I was getting made about as much sense as someone who's eaten too many Fizzing Whizbees.

A hand came down in front of me and turned my paper ninety degrees (or pi over two radians, as I had learned in Arithmancy). I looked up to see none other than that ubiquitous blond Ravenclaw, Ted Tonks.

"I don't know about you, but I can't read sideways." he said very pleasantly. "I thought that might help."

I just stared blankly at him, utterly bewildered.

"You were trying to read it sideways." he repeated, a little impatiently.

I looked at it again and scribbled a translation on my scrap paper. Oh blah, he was right. I glanced up, said "Thanks," and pulled out my textbook to check my work.

Now it was his turn to look confused. (Actually, it was his turn much more often than it was mine. Oh fiddlesticks, I was doing it again, wasn't I?) "You've - you've already finished translating it?"

"Yes," I answered shortly, snapping my textbook shut once I had satisfied myself as to the accuracy of my translation. I commenced copying it over onto another sheet of parchment more neatly.

"How are you not in Ravenclaw?" he demanded. I had no answer. Actually, I did. My family.

After that, somehow, every day I studied alone in the library, he would mysteriously appear, converse with me for a while, then disappear again. It was immensely confusing and highly annoying. But I enjoyed it too. Winnie and Catie, while amazing, weren't enthusiastic about academics like me. He was more fun to talk to that way. Not that I would ever admit it to him.

It was very strange to have a secret friendship. I was used to telling everything to Catie and Winnie, but now I couldn't. Especially not Catie, since she was a notorious gossip. Winnie wasn't however. As for me, if _I_ started going out with someone I probably wouldn't know until a week after the fact. Still, I knew that the Hogwarts gossip network worked quickly and in unexpected ways, so this had to remain a complete secret or, Merlin forbid, Bella would find out. I was already beginning to be a little frightened of her. She had changed. But I hadn't. Or had I? After all, I was now sort-of-friends with a Muggleborn.

Thirteen was also when I figured out precisely how different from my family I was.


	4. Fourteen

Through the Ages: 

Fourteen

I was fourteen when I realized how much my family would disapprove of our friendship if they knew about it.

During the Christmas vacation of my fourth year, my parents suddenly realized that Bella was one year away from becoming an adult. This, of course, necessitated a lecture on propriety that I somehow unfortunately became a part of.

After they finished interrogating Bella, they turned to me.

"You need to be careful of who you associate with, Andromeda dear," Mother said. I flushed as I was reminded of the fierce argument over the ethics of the Third Goblin War I'd had with Ted last week.

"For example, those friends of yours... like... what's her name... Wilma?... Er..." Father searched his memory.

"Winnifred Byatt," I said a little tartly. Bella shot me a strange glance.

"Oh, yes, Byatt. She's a half blood, isn't she?" Mother cut in before Father could say anything.

"Yes..." I replied softly. Winnie was one of my only friends. I couldn't bear it if they told me to cut off the relationship.

"Hmph. One or two half blood acquaintances is all right, I suppose, but you really must be cautious, dear. Especially now, when you're getting older... and closer to marriage."

_Marriage?_ I was _fourteen_, for Merlin's sake! I stammered some idiotic reply that Mother didn't let me finish.

"Yes dear, it's time you were thinking of that. Let's see... doesn't Rodolphus have a younger brother, Bella dear?"

"Rabastan," Bella said with a smirk. "And he likes Andie. I know he does."

"Andromeda dear, aren't you friends with Catherine Nott?" Mother directed her question at me. "She has an older brother... Thomas, I believe..."

"He likes Andie too," Bella added, her smirk growing bigger. "Half the school does. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding someone for her. Someone _suitable."_

I had a chilling feeling that she knew that I was friends with Ted. How she knew that wasn't too hard to figure out either. Bella had some friends who were... strange was a mild and probably too positive way to put it. She didn't talk to me anymore, the way she did before we went to Hogwarts.

"Half the school?" Father raised one eyebrow.

"Andromeda dear..." Alright, now that was getting on my nerves. "You haven't been _encouraging_ this, have you?"

"Not in the slightest," I responded a little too ferociously, with a glare at Bella. She only smiled in that odd vindictive way back.

"Just be careful, dear..." Mother said slowly. "You wouldn't want any... _impure _types to think that you actually liked them at all. Even some of the old families are getting tainted... so many half bloods these days! And the Mudbloods seem to be taking over the Ministry... but that's not for you girls to consider. Go call Narcissa now, for dinner."

Bella and I both stood at the same moment and exited the room in step with each other. Her menacing smile made it seem like a horrific parody of the days when she was my closest confidante, when the name "Andie" was never heard without "Bella" or "Cissy".

"Is there anyone _you _like, Andie?" Bella suddenly slipped into a teasing tone.

"No." I said vehemently. She giggled. That suddenly made me feel safe. Bella might not be the most... er... _stable..._ of all of us, but she wouldn't joke around like this if she knew that I was friends with a Muggleborn. At least, I thought so.

Fourteen was also when I realized how my family's prejudices colored every aspect of our lives.


	5. Fifteen

Through the Ages:

Fifteen

I was fifteen when I realized that we might be more than just friends.

It was the Valentine's Day of my fifth year, and I had been "ditched" by both of my friends. Catie had decided to spend the day with her boyfriend, who, coincidentally, neither I nor Winnie liked very much, and Winnie had to run some errands and buy a birthday present for some relative or other.

So I was walking through Hogsmeade, all alone, when I heard a voice behind me. "All alone on Valentine's Day?"

I whirled around, wand up and ready to hex. Father had said that in these troubled times we should all be alert in case some "jumped-up Mudblood" tried to attack us. Although other people were similarly prepared, I had a feeling their reasons were quite different.

"Tonks!" I hissed ferociously. "What are you _doing?_ This is a _public venue!_"

"Don't be so happy to see a friend, now," he said affably. Did _nothing_ ever faze him? He continued, "Neither of your sisters are here today. In fact, I was wondering why you were here today, since you're 'unattached'," He used his fingers to make quote marks in the air. "And your friends aren't here."

"How do you know I'm unattached?" I demanded, pocketing my wand.

"Andromeda my friend," he replied with a sigh, "You are very loud about the fact that you think all boys are stupid and that relationships are pointless."

That was very true. I scowled at him, then, just to be annoying, ordered, "Don't call me that."

"What?" He was confused. This was fun.

"_Andromeda._" I said haughtily. In truth, I had no aversion whatsoever to the name. I just wanted a reason to argue with him.

"Fine, then. How about Dromeda?"

He was positively insufferable! "Why can't you just call me Andie like everyone else does?" I cried, exasperated with my failure to annoy him.

"Nah. Dromeda sounds cooler." He grinned in a way that made me want to slap him silly.

I reached up to smack him on the head, but he lightly grabbed my arm. I felt... something. A spark. A current. Whatever it was, it was positively _electric,_ and it frightened me. I yanked my arm away. I didn't know if he'd felt the same thing I did, but he certainly looked as confused as I felt.

We walked together for a while, but what could have been a nice chat about academics and whatnot was marred by how I kept _noticing_ things about him. Like exactly how_tall_ he was. Or how his golden hair fell in his eyes a little, giving me an almost irresistible urge to brush it away. Or how the aforementioned eyes were always sparkling with some new plan to get on my nerves.

Then it hit me. Oh no. I _fancied him_. I fancied my friend _Ted Tonks._ A _Muggleborn._ I was so doomed. If anyone ever found out, I was truly dead.

Fifteen was also when I realized that the separation of mentalities between me and my family was permanent and impossible to cross.


	6. Sixteen

Through the Ages:

Sixteen

I was sixteen when I realized that I didn't just fancy him.

Bella had graduated the year before, and Cissy was head over heels in a crush on Lucius Malfoy - which Bella and I never failed to tease her about - so neither of them were watching me very closely. Therefore, I was being more than a little careless about talking to Ted.

It started in Potions class - Slughorn, for some unfathomable reason, had seated us together. He was always a little too observant for his own good. Catie and Winnie were seated at the adjacent table, and some Ravenclaws who I only recognized as friends of Ted's were on our other side.

It was mostly little things, like when he asked me to borrow a knife, or when I playfully smacked him on the head with my newt tails. But it was noticeable. Catie didn't really see it. Despite her eye for intrigue, she failed to recognize it when it was brewing right under her nose. However, Winnie was more observant.

One day, just before a Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor - it wouldn't look too strange if I cheered for Ravenclaw, since most Slytherin purebloods despised Gryffindor, so I was in a good mood - Winnie dropped her bombshell.

"Andie," she said slowly, as we were sitting in the common room waiting for Catie to finish putting on her make-up, "Is there something between you and Tonks?"

I nearly jumped out of my seat. "What in Merlin's name do you mean?" I spluttered.

She just looked at me in that faintly disturbing way she had. "Just wondering. It was nothing."

At that moment, Catie tumbled down the stairs, and we set off for the Quidditch pitch. We managed to get good seats, far away from Cissy, partly because I didn't want to have to watch her make eyes at Malfoy and partly because my parents didn't approve of unladylike enthusiasm for Quidditch, and Cissy might tell tales if she saw me cheering. Winnie was in the middle of Catie and I, which was rather uncomfortable for her, since we were shouting at each other for a good deal of the time.

"For goodness' sake, Catie, I am not _mooning _over anyone!" I screamed at Catie over the din.

"Then why are you so quiet and zoned out all the time?" Catie asked. "Let's see... is it Rabastan?" she cooed in a voice dripping with honey, her voice going up an octave.

"I am _not_ in love with Lestrange!" I yelled hotly over Winnie's head.

"Andie's in love, Andie's in love," Catie sang. I nearly jumped on top of her, which knocked poor Winnie over. By the time we all righted ourselves and brushed off the scoldings of the people surrounding us, the game was well underway.

I couldn't follow what was going on at all. I'd always been a bit hopeless regarding Quidditch. In fact, the only reason I was actually trying today was because Ted was playing. He was a Chaser, and apparently quite good at it, though I could never tell.

I turned to Winnie. "Wait - who's winning?" I asked desperately, trying to make sense of the blurs I was seeing.

"Gryffindor is up seventy to sixty," she said patiently, well used to my lack of Quidditch sense by now.

I tried vainly to at least find Ted, but I had no luck. This was utterly pointless. I heard the commentator declare the score a tie, but I hadn't even seen the goal happen.

I finally decided to give up. "I'm going back in," I announced. "This is utterly pointless. I have no idea whatsoever what's happening."

Catie made a weak protest as I heard someone - several someones, actually - shriek from the Ravenclaw stands. My head snapped back to the game. A blue figure was plummeting from their broom. A very tall blue figure. There was only one person in Ravenclaw who was that tall.

"Ted," I breathed softly. Everything seemed to slow down. I could feel Winnie looking at me strangely as I heard Catie say "Oh, it's only that Mudblood Tonks," and even as I felt my heart stutter to a stop. I was frozen in place. If anything happened to Ted - I didn't even dare think about it. He'd be all right, it was just a fall, everything was going to be okay -

"Andie," Winnie said sharply, tugging on my sleeve, "Are you all right?" She looked very concerned.

I didn't answer her. I was just staring at the blue figure lying crumpled on the pitch as people converged around him. I caught snatches of conversation from around me - "Mudbloods, why would they think they can play Quidditch - ?" " - two Bludgers at once? I ask you - " "That was a dirty trick, especially for a Gryffindor - "

"_Andie!" _Someone snapped their fingers right in front of my nose. I started a little, then turned to Winnie and said vacantly, "I think I'll go back in now." And I did. Winnie stared after me as Catie shrugged and returned her attention to the game.

I went straight up to the dormitory and dove under my covers. Catie would probably think I was just tired. Winnie would know something was wrong. In fact, she'd probably figured the whole thing out by now. Winnie was annoyingly perceptive that way.

I simply _had_ to know if Ted was all right. Despite Cissy being quite absorbed in her crush, even she would notice the gossip if I went to visit Ted in the hospital wing. I couldn't risk sneaking out at night and being caught that way either. I'd have to be more clever.

I tried to remember who'd been in the common room when I had sprinted up the stairs. Catie's brother - that Goyle boy - Andrea Bulstrode. A notorious gossip. Perfect. I clutched my stomach theatrically and tried to remember how Catie had screwed up her face when she'd seen that disgusting mixture of pudding and soup those first-year Hufflepuffs had created during dinner last night.

My ruse worked wonderfully. It even fooled Madam Collins. She fell hook, line, and sinker for my overdramatic groans of stomach discomfort and even suggested that I stay the night. Madam Collins was the nicest person I had ever known, I decided. I even managed to get myself put in a bed next to Ted, claiming that the window nearby would help with fresh air.

As soon as Madam Collins left the room to go to her office to document my "stomachache", I rolled over from my prone position and sat up. Ted looked rather pale, but he was definitely breathing. Which was a good thing. I then realized that I'd barely been breathing myself since I'd seen him fall. Why in the name of Merlin was I so concerned about him?

He opened one eye, then the other, and I realized that he'd heard all of my playacting. I turned bright red.

"So," he said, sitting up as well, "Precisely why were you so keen to get down here? You're not a very good actress, Dromeda."

"I fooled Madam Collins," I retorted. "And, for the millionth time, don't call me that."

He laughed. "Are you going to enlighten me or do I have to get it out of you forcibly?"

I scowled at him. "If you must know, I wanted to see if you were all right, and this seemed like the best way to do it without exciting gossip. What happened to you, anyway?"

"Just a couple broken bones, is all," he replied nonchalantly. "But I hit my head or something, so Madam Collins insists that I stay the night. What a bother."

I heard Madam Collins coming back, and both of us wriggled under the covers again. It was quite late by now, so Madam Collins turned out the lights and returned to her office, so she could work without "disturbing us". Actually, that allowed us to talk without disturbing her.

"So you do care, then." Ted continued our line of discourse as we both struggled out of the tangled knots we'd made of our bedsheets. "I was beginning to think you hated me." He sounded light, almost as though he was teasing me, but his eyes were serious.

Of course, whenever I used the word "serious", even in my thoughts, my young cousin who was anything _but_ came to mind. I had a hard time keeping myself from laughing as I replied, "I don't hate you. Mostly. Sometimes you are rather insufferable."

"I try," he responded in an overly humble tone. I couldn't hold my laughter in anymore.

We kept talking and laughing over truly random things for a long time. Everything seems more funny when you're sleepy. Eventually Ted dozed off, though not before saying drowsily "It _is_ nice to know that you care about me, Dromeda. It makes me think that you might feel the same way I do..." And he was asleep.

Feel the same way he does? What in Merlin's name did he mean by that? How did I feel about him, anyway?

Suddenly I could hear Catie chanting her annoying tuneless song again, "Andie's in love, Andie's in love..."

Sixteen was also when I took my final mental step away from my family's philosophy towards people.


	7. Seventeen

Through the Ages:

Seventeen

I was seventeen when we actually both managed to get our feelings towards each other straight.

Even though it was only October, I was already obsessing over NEWTs. Both Winnie and Catie thought I was insane, so I was in the library alone. Which seemed to happen to me quite a lot, actually.

I was holding a giant tome - Numerology and Grammatica - and trying to decide whether to take it back to the dormitory to read at night when I saw Ted in the window. He was creeping up behind me. I turned around immediately, making him jump. It was always fun when I managed to surprise him, since he did it to me so often but I could barely ever do it.

"Hello, Ted," I said amiably. Then I realized that his hair was bright pink. "What happened to you?"

"Your cousin and his friends happened to me," he grumbled. "I was hoping you could help, actually."

"Sirius was always the least serious of all of us," I said as I pulled out my wand. I was quite familiar with this particular hex.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" Ted asked as I performed the countercharm. His hair returned to its normal color with a loud explosive noise. Madam Pince glared over at us from her desk.

"I am ignoring what you just said," I answered loftily. "Now, either help me study or find someone else to bother. I need to work on my Arithmancy."

"Study? What for? There are no tests coming up, are there?" he asked, looking at the book I was holding.

"NEWTs, Ted, NEWTs," I said somewhat irritably. I'd been over this with Catie and Winnie already. "They determine our whole future. We need to be prepared." Even as I said this, I realized that my own future was already determined. I squashed this thought and focused on my book again.

"In Merlin's name, Dromeda, you're already preparing for NEWTs? They're in MAY. They might be important, but honestly, most careers focus more on the interviews than the NEWT scores. I was talking to Professor Flitwick..."

I wasn't really listening to him. It's a bad habit of mine, but I often zone out in the middle of conversations. I was thinking about my own future. There was no career there. A perfect pureblood marriage to a perfect pureblood husband and a perfect pureblood family. It was all decided, too. I could almost hear my father saying "Andromeda, it's been decided. Rabastan Lestrange comes from a good family, and you'll be able to see your sister often..." just as he had said during the summer.

"Dromeda? _Dromeda!_" Ted snapped his fingers in front of my face.

I couldn't see that, though. All I could see was one of those horrible family pictures. Me, as an adult, standing next to Rabastan Lestrange, with a stiff expression on my face, and two ironed-and-starched children, a girl and a boy, standing in front of us. The Lestranges didn't care about what NEWTs I got. All they cared was that I was female, purefblood, and only a year younger than Rabastan. Ted was right. NEWTs weren't that important. Not for me.

"_Andromeda!" _Ted grabbed my shoulders and turned me around to face him. "_Are you all right?"_

"No," I said suddenly. I was most decidedly not all right. "I'm getting married."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"This summer," I continued. I was getting into my rambling mode. "To Rabastan Lestrange. On August 19th. His parents' anniversary. That's supposed to be lucky or something." I took a deep but quick breath and kept going. "But I don't want to. I really _really_ don't want to, but I have to, or I'll be disowned just like my first cousin twice removed Cedrella and they'll blast me off the family tree and I'll be homeless and alone and not even Bella and Cissy will ever talk to me or owl me because I'll be a traitor to the family but _I don't want to marry him because he's a complete knucklehead and I'm in love wi-" _I abruptly stopped talking and slapped my hand over my mouth. I'd let slip too much.

Ted was staring at me like I'd gone completely insane.

I sighed. "Just forget I said anything, alright?" I slipped out of his grip and dragged myself a few aisles over to put Numerology and Grammatica back. I was so depressed now that there was no way I could get any work done.

He followed me. I had not been anticipating that. Therefore, when I heard him say "Dromeda..." right behind my shoulder, I shrieked and dropped my very thick book on his foot.

"Ow!" He lifted his foot off the ground and hopped in place. Unfortunately, there was a stack of books directly next to him. He knocked into it and it fell over. The books spilled everywhere and knocked _me _over. On top of him. This was like the slapstick comedy in bad novels. It was also extremely awkward.

And then he kissed me.

I didn't really react. I just rolled off of him and sat up as soon as it was over. And then I stared at him while he sat up. The silence was deafening.

"With you." I wasn't exactly sure what I was saying, clearly. But it seemed like the right thing to say in this very uncomfortable situation.

It confused Ted a lot. "What?"

"I don't want to, but I have to, or I'll be disowned like Cedrella, who, by the way, is Arthur Weasley's mother, and I'll be a traitor to the family, but he's a complete knucklehead and I'm in love with you." I elaborated. Then I slapped my hand over my mouth again. My tongue seemed to be running away with itself today.

Ted blinked. "Who's a complete knucklehead?"

"Well, I was talking about Rabastan Lestrange, but I suppose the term applies to you too. Did you even _hear_ what I said?" Now I was angry. Couldn't he at least respond to the part that was pertinent to _him_ first?

"I'm attempting to absorb it." he snapped back. "I didn't expect you to say something like that."

"I didn't expect you to _kiss_ me." I retorted.

"Oh, so it's okay to declare that you're in love with someone unexpectedly, but it's not okay to kiss someone unexpectedly?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," I said irritably. Then I burst out laughing. "Oh Merlin... we're arguing about... sitting on the library floor... Merlin, this is ridiculous..." I stood up and slumped against the bookcase, still laughing. I was somewhat hysterical by this point.

Ted simply kissed me again and whispered, "Just so you know, Dromeda, I love you too."

Seventeen was also when I stopped letting my family's philisophies control me.


	8. Eighteen

Through the Ages:

Eighteen

I was eighteen when we both went completely insane at the same time and got _married._

It was the day before our graduation. Ted and I had been carrying on a secret relationship all year. We both knew it was doomed in the end, but that didn't stop us. Somehow, the secrecy made every moment more special. Even though most of the moments were just meeting at night to go snog in a broom closet.

However, today even seeing Ted couldn't make me happy. In less than 3 months, I would be married. After today, I would probably never see Ted ever again before I got married. I was so depressed that even Catie noticed.

"What's got you down, Andie?" Catie asked me as we sat in the common room together.

"Nothing. Just... I'm going to miss this place." I replied lamely.

"Look on the bright side," Catie said, waving her hands around like a maniac. "No more exams. No more homework. No more curfew."

"No more seeing your friends everyday. No more random parties. No more..." Luckily, I managed to stop before I said anything more.

"I'm inclined to agree with Andie," Winnie said suddenly. "I'm going to miss Hogwarts too." Then she looked at her watch. "Catie, shouldn't you be in bed? It's quite late."

Both Catie and I stared at her.

"Don't you have something going on early tomorrow?" Winnie prodded.

Catie's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! Yeah. See you all in the morning." She went up to the dormitory alone.

I stared at Winnie. "What was all that about?"

"Probably some assignation with her current boyfriend." Winnie said dismissively. "She's always got something like that going on. Really, I just wanted to talk to you alone."

"What about?" I asked blankly.

"You're in love with Ted Tonks." She held up her hand before I could respond to her sudden declaration. "Don't deny it. It's obvious to anyone who knows you well and pays attention. Which, actually, is probably only me." She was correct. Catie and Cissy were absorbed in boys, and Bella was no longer in Hogwarts. Or in contact with me, actually. I had no idea what she was doing these days. I had a feeling that I didn't really want to know, anyway.

Winnie continued. "You're going to meet him tonight. I know you are. I also know you're getting married to Rabastan Lestrange this summer. Or you were going to get married to him this summer. You don't have to. That's what I'm trying to say."

"Exactly what is my other option?" I replied sharply. "Without help, there's no way I can get away from my family."

"Marry someone else." Winnie said shortly. "You're an adult, you can do that. Then your family will have no hold over you."

"Who?" I said vacantly. "The only person I actually want to marry is..."

"Tonks," she finished for me. "Marry Tonks."

"He hasn't asked me," I pointed out. "And my family will disown me." But my heart started beating so fast I thought it would burn itself out.

"Boys are slow," she said contemptuously. "You have to make a choice, Andie. Between him and your family. Now, go and find him and figure this out." Winnie stood up and walked up the stairs into the

dormitory, leaving me alone in the common room.

I sat there for a long while. I leaned back into the couch and closed my eyes. My family... I was always closer to Bella than Cissy, and Bella had drifted away from me too. Cissy was so focused on her "love" for Lucius Malfoy that sometimes I felt like I was an only child. But they were my sisters. I loved my sisters. I couldn't just leave them. My cousins too. Regulus hadn't even started Hogwarts yet. Would he remember me at all? My parents didn't even figure in my thoughts. It was only my sisters and cousins who I cared about.

When I make up my mind, I stick to it. It's just the decision making takes a _long_ time.

Whatever choice I made now, I knew I'd regret it forever. I opened my eyes and saw Ted sitting on the armchair in front of me. For some reason, this didn't surprise me. I made my choice in that instant.

"Let's get married," I said without prelude. Ted just looked at me like he'd been expecting that. He stood up and held his hand out. I took it.

"When?" he said quietly. We started to walk out of the common room.

"Professor Dumbledore's a member of the Wizengamot. He can marry people. Do you think he's still awake?"

Ted seemed to catch on to what I was saying. At least, it seemed that way, since he looked quite startled.

"Dromeda," he said slowly, "You're saying... Now?"

"Yes," I replied, as we entered the corridor. "Unless... are you sure about this?"

"The only thing I'm sure about is that I'm in love with you," he said. I couldn't help it. I kissed him. This delayed us for a little while, but we managed to get walking again.

"By the way," I said conversationally, "How did you get into our common room?"

"Your friend told me the password and said that you had something important to tell me," he responded with a slight frown. "Did you tell anyone about... well... us?"

"Which friend was this?" I asked as we found the stairs that led to the hallway where the Headmaster's office was.

"The short one with black hair."

"Winnie's just perceptive that way," I replied with a smile. "Remind me to stay in contact with her."

Eighteen was also when I finally stopped being a Black.


End file.
